The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-15
AN AUTHORS FIRST NOVEL.
It Lures a Reader Into Impersonat'
ing Ono of the Characters.
From the 81. James Gazette

One day heard through my publisher
| admit had been questioning them-that
one person had ordered six copies of my
novel. | kept my countenance and asked,
with apparent caEmness, who it was, with
out, however, expecting that they would be
able to tell Iuc. | had been vainly trying
to track my admircr for weeks; and if they
had said that he bought the books across
the counter and took them away himself, |
should have accepted it as my usual luck.
But he had not done So He had left
name and address for the parcel to be sent
TO. The address was - - -, Shep-
herl's-bush, and the name was Banks. That
evening, having nothing particular to do, |
took the Underground to Shepherds-buSh.
You would have thought that every one
asked TO direct me to the address was in
league against me, for no one seemed to
know it, ] was not to be balked, however,
and presently found it for myself. | liked
the look of the house There were pots of
flowers in the window and the door stood
open, showing two umbrellas and an over
coat in tie hall. A beggar happened to
pass me at this moment and gave him six
pence. | would have stood and looked at the
house for some time, bat felt TINT the peo-
pie in the other houses were staring at me,
SO ] walked back and forward in a tottering
way, glancing up and down the street coca
Sionauy and consulting my watch as if !
was waiting for friend. All this time
kent an eye on the house and at last saw
gentleman come out Ny heart beat fast
but the next moment it sank within me.
This was not my admirer. Evidently he
was a doctor What had he been doing in
that house. | sew it all in flash; my adj
mirer was ill., Very likely he would die
just when | had run him to earth. Was
there ever such an unfortunate person as
MYSELF
He did not die Perhaps it would have
been us well if he had; for he was very
disappointing man ON acquaintance. 1t
turned out that the reason why he liked my
novel was entirely because one of the char
| acterS happened to be called William Banks
| His name was William Banks also. The
coincidence struck him rs by far the most
amusing and curious thing he had ever
| heard Of. The copies of the book he ordered
! were for friends; and before he sent them
| away he went through each one undermining
| the name of William Banks every time it
| occurred. and adding n note of exclamation
| on the margin. His eldest daughter, who
| was girl of Ii or II, must have grown to
| hate me- Every evening on his return
| from the office he had her into the dinin,,
| room after dinner to read chapters to him.
| When she came TO such sentence as
| Banks shook hands with himself and be-
! hind his back, which was a custom Of his, y
| or Banks drummed with his fingers on the
windowpanc,n her father dung back his
head and roared. So far as | got to know
| him, he was only interested in one thing.
| and that was how | came to hit upon the
name William Banks. ! would re-
| ply that it was by an accident and
| then try to get him on to something
! else; but it was no use; his mind dwelt on
| that one theme; and after 1 had said some
I A.
| poor, ne would reply, II don't think that
| that kind of thing could he entirely an acct
don't" Whether his friends were really as
ridiculous as himself, or only pretended to lie
! 20 cut of poltcnesS, ! don't know: but when
| he introduced me to them as the man who
| had put him in book they said il was too
| bad, and expressed n fear lest / should put
! them in my next one. AS | have said,
! have written a good many books since that
one. Banks gets them all: but his invalia-
| bio criticism Is that they are not equal to
my first one.
! The strangesU part of tho business has still
| TO b. told. Should biographical notice of
the writer ever bc ponned it will undoubt-
! edly be pointed out that the character of
| William Banks in my first novel was not
| only drawn from life, but named after the
original. This was not, of course, the case
| but it is inevitable that the charge will be
made, and shall not be able easily to prove
! il groundless. Tho fact is that the Banks OF
Shcpherd's-bush had thought over the coin
1cidence OF names until he has got to mix
! himself up with the Banks of fiction.
! Whether mntentially or not, lac has
adopted most of the peculiarities of the
other Banks, such as clasping his hands he
| hind his back aud drumming with his fingers
on window-panes The Banks of magma
ton was distinguished by white hat,
| which he wore summer and winter Banks
of Shepherd has discarded black hats
| for white ones. He also divides his hair as
my Banks did, with two tufts that looked
| like horns, one on each side of his head
and never walks on the pavement when
ha can get The curostone to himself" |
have seen the living Banks within the last